Ad agency Clemenger BBDO Melbourne is putting up a $100,000 prize with a new ‘Creative Incubator’ looking for the most ‘inspiring ideas in Australia’.

The announcement:

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne has partnered with Australia’s premier creative, tech and business showcase, PauseFest, to offer an innovation prize worth up to $100,000.

The Clemenger Creative Incubator will launch at this year’s festival and is looking for the most original, most inspiring ideas in Australasia. Budding tech entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to privately pitch their innovation to a panel of leading industry experts in a five-minute presentation. The most inspiring ideas could secure part of a six-figure investment from Clemenger BBDO and its agency network.

The panel is looking for innovative concepts, inspirational to both the agency and its clients. The winning ideas will benefit from workshops, creative resources, counsel, introductions and potential partnership opportunities.

The judging panel consists of senior Clemenger BBDO people and leading digital thinkers, including Clemenger BBDO Melbourne CEO Nick Garrett, Digital Creative Director Ben Keenan, Digital Planner Samara Hodgson, Finch Director of Applied Technology Emad Tahtouh (Chair of the Innovation jury at Cannes) and Colenso BBDO (NZ) Head of Digital, Technology and Innovation Gavin Becker, who has returned from 20 years in New York.

“Agencies are evolving at pace and innovative thinking and innovative technologies play a large part in how we define success in the future. This prize is an important way for us to connect with emerging Australian innovators and entrepreneurs who want to get their thinking and IP exposed to some of Australia’s most interesting and largest companies.

“This is an opportunity for us to learn from the brightest thinkers and offer them advice and guidance on how to launch their ideas commercially,” Garrett said.

“Creative people always have a few concepts bubbling away. This is a real opportunity for someone to get the backing of an army of people fluent in the art of bringing ideas to life.”

“There are so many people who have seen an opportunity, taken the first step towards making it happen, but lacked the resources or network to take it to the next level. These are the exactly the kinds of entrepreneurs we are looking to collaborate with,” he said.

PauseFest launched in 2011 with 200 attendees. Last year over 12,000 creative, tech and business people from across Asia Pacific flocked to Melbourne to learn about the latest ideas, products and thinking in the digital world. Founder George Hedon says he started PauseFest so he could “…collaborate with super talented and like-minded people on the projects you can’t Google”.

Registrations to pitch at the Clemenger Creative Incubator are now open. Outline your concept and apply for a chance to present today. The presentations will take place in Melbourne on February 11 and 12.

This is PR spin at its worst. From the actual Pausefest website “up for grabs is up to $100,000 in agency time across the Clemenger portfolio to be invested at the panel’s discretion”

So there is no cash prize, just time to the value of. This is pissweak Clemenger, plenty of agencies already devote more time than this without the PR, and for you to send a deceptive press release undermines all your credibility. How about create a fund of 10 million or so of cash to invest in startups and show you are serious? FFS.

Read the fine print people, on the Surveymonkey site where they’re hosting it.
All promises – money, development etc., can be withdrawn at their discretion.
Your presentation can be videoed, published, edited – you can be publicly humiliated if they wish, in an internet meme, and you have no comeback.
They can pay you $1 if they wish to.
It will be like those awful audition shows, where no-one comes out looking good. Nothing in their terms and conditions indicates that you’ll be treated respectfully. Capital-E exploitation, folks. Ignore.